I smile too, happy that, for all her faults, my best friend is still my best friend. And maybe I can just get through these next few months, graduate, and then come back home where I belong. And Viv and I can go on our senior trip that we’ve planned for years. We’re going to charter a private jet and see all of Europe in style. It’s like a wealthy persons’ take on the old “backpacking around Europe” dream. We’re going to do it in style.
“It’s just a few months,” I say, taking a deep breath to calm my nerves.
“It’s just a few months,” Viv repeats.
“Knock, knock,” a voice says from behind us. My heart immediately swells with anticipation. The voice belongs to Henry Sharp.TheHenry Sharp, of the Sharp congressman legacy. His dad is gearing up for his presidential run, and Henry plans to follow in his footsteps.
We’ve been getting close lately, flirting over text and in person. If I play my cards right, I might become a future First Lady. I think I would look really, really good in front of the White House.
“Henry!” I say, getting up and giving him a hug. “I didn’t know you were coming over.”
He shrugs, that boyish grin making my stomach flutter. Henry has it all. He’s tall, toned, and absolutely gorgeous. His family moved to Malibu after his dad became a senator. All the girls immediately threw themselves at him, but I feel like Henry and I have a connection. Maybe because I’m smart enough to act confident around him. It’s a much better look than desperation.
“I saw your Snaps,” he says, referencing the Snapchat pictures I posted a little while ago. I was happy back then because it was before my mother dropped the boarding school bomb on me. Henry smiles and runs a hand through his dirty blond hair. “Thought I’d surprise you.”
“Well it’s good timing because you won’t be seeing her for a while,” Viv says. I stiffen and give her a glare she doesn’t seem to notice. I wanted to be the one to tell him, not her.
Henry frowns. “What do you mean?”
“She’s being sent off to boarding school.”
Now his brows shoot up and then he grins. “You’re joking, right? It’s the middle of the year.”
I throw my hands up in the air. “Tell that to my parents. They’re sending me away tomorrow because they want me to get good grades at an actual school instead of from my private tutors.”
“That’s harsh,” he says. “Where are you going?”
“Shelfbrooke.”
He grimaces. “That’s far away.”
I lean my head on his shoulder. “I know,” I say with a heavy sigh.
He pats my back but it does nothing to comfort me. “Let’s swim. Take your mind off it.”
I know I should suck it up and go swim with him. He’s Henry Sharp after all. But my stomach hurts and I’m feeling dizzy from the realization that I’ll be leaving tomorrow morning. I shake my head. “You swim. I just need to sit down.”
“I’ll swim with you!” Viv says, eagerly stripping off her sheer coverup and revealing the hot pink bikini she wears underneath.
“Cool,” Henry says with that gorgeous smile of his. He reaches out his hand and my best friend takes it, knowing full well that I have claimed Henry as my own crush, and together they jump into my pool.
I guess I should have seen this coming. Tomorrow I’ll be gone. Out of the picture. Shipped off to the stupid east coast. But my best friend and Henry will still be here, living it up in Malibu.
I watch the sun glistening off Viv’s gorgeous wet hair. I hear the sound of her laughter as Henry splashes her. Then the sound of his laughter as she splashes him back. And just like that, my future First Lady plans are ripped out from under me.
I think I’m going to be sick.
Chapter Three
My hand wrapsaround the handles of my Prada suitcases. Three more suitcases are being overnighted to the boarding school, filled with my clothing and belongings. This one is my carry on. It didn’t feel real when I was packing last night, but it feels real now. It feels real like a sucker punch to the gut.
I didn’t even say goodbye to my parents this morning because they were already gone, headed off to Bali for some “marriage counseling” which we all know is just a fancy way to say you’re spending a lot of money getting pampered at a resort. They couldn’t be bothered to tell me goodbye when their plane left last night, and I won’t be bothered to text them goodbye now, as I stand at my front door, watching the driver pull up and get out, opening the back door for me.
I take a deep breath. I walk down the front steps of my Malibu house, knowing I will count every single day until I get to come back here where I belong.
“Good morning, Miss Brass,” the driver says. I don’t know his name. I give him a slight nod, which is all I can muster right now. It’s really freaking early in the morning and I am being relocated against my will. I can’t bother to smile right now.
The drive to the airport is short. We go to a private air strip just a few minutes away, where the chartered jet is waiting for us. My parents own a third of the jet and share it with two other prominent families. Today I get to use it.
